Water alliance pays visit

Thursday, 14 February 2019 14:50

CiF rural affairs chief Bartomeu Escandell and environment chief Daisee Aguilera welcomed Aliança per l'Aigua coordinator Juan Calvo for a visit of the island's irrigation pond today. Also present at the event were Joan Ferrer, chair of the local Comunitat de Regants and representatives of the Tragsa company. Councillor Aguilera underlined the importance of infrastructure able to “find ways to use waste water in local fields and keep it from being dumped in Formentera's surrounding waters”. The goal, says Aguilera, is “to close the water cycle”.

January and February palm tree pruning months

Wednesday, 23 January 2019 11:55

The Formentera Council's agriculture department reminds islanders ofthe restrictions placed on pruning plant species that are susceptible to the red palm weevil, namely, palm trees. Residents are asked to limit their pruning to January and February, given these have been the coolest months in recent years.

Authorisation from agriculture officeTo prune palm trees, individuals must always have the prior permission of the CiF agriculture office, the goal being to protect pruned trees from infestation and to ensure proper disposal of the garden waste generated in the process. With the green-light of the agriculture office, individuals are allowed to take waste to the local transfer plant, free of charge.

With plants that are susceptible to weevil infestation a series of precautions should be followed: prune only dry leaves; when green leaf pruning is absolutely necessary, cuts should be kept to a minimum and a scarring solution or other plant protection treatment should be applied; cuts should be clean and trunks should not be pared; and, lastly, “close shave” techniques should be avoided when pruning is ornamental (such pruning should only be applied when necessary and followed with a plant protection treatment immediately after). If any weevils are detected during pruning, contact the Council's Office of Agriculture so that the necessary steps can be followed.

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus —the insect also known as the red palm weevil which has devastated palm trees— reduces and even halts its activity altogether at low temperatures. Law 4/2016 of January 29, which establishes the need for efforts within the Balearic region to eradicate the insect and restricts palm tree pruning to the chilliest months.

Farmers return to Can Marroig

Friday, 11 January 2019 14:41

The Formentera Council's president and rural affairs councillor met with two members of the Cooperativa del Camp, director Carlos Marí and chairman Jaume Escandell, along with Eivissa and Formentera's Ibanat delegate, Carolina Rodríguez, for a noon visit of the co-op's farming operations —a first— at Can Marroig.

CiF president Jaume Ferrer described Can Marroig as an “iconic local site long associated with agrarian activity”. Ferrer said agricultural work on the Can Marroig plots was abandoned “with the arrival of tourism” and that reviving traditional activity there has been “a goal of the Council's ever since the Govern balear purchased the property”.

Testing the watersThis week the “Farmers' Co-op” has sown the first two hectares' worth of native cereals, explained the Cooperativa's director, with plans to dedicate some of the harvest to making fodder. The rest will be given to islanders who say they need it. Marí indicated a pilot programme was in the works to plant aromatic herbs there.

For his part, rural affairs councillor Bartomeu Escandell spoke about the administration's commitment in recent years to reclaiming the countryside. Escandell pointed out that since its reactivation in 2015, the island's agrarian co-operative has received help in its efforts. Joint action initiatives have totalled €400,000, plus an industrial space was revamped to house the co-op and they have received roughly one million euros in machinery. The goal being, he said, “to continue promoting primary activity on the island”.

The Council, Govern balear and Ibanat, which owns the land, signed a deal in 2016 that made it possible to revive agrarian activity at Can Marroig.

The Formentera Council's agriculture office unveiled its 2019 round of continuing development courses in agriculture and livestock. Four modules will take place between January and April; the first, beginners' level pesticides for individuals employed in professional farming, begins January 21.

The first course runs from January 21 to 25 in the afternoon from 4.00pm to 8.00pm, with an exam to check for comprehension on the January 26. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a basic-level "phytosanitary product" handler's card. Registration is open now and can be completed at the OAC (Citizen Information Office) or online via the OVAC.

Reclaiming the countrysideDepartment head Bartomeu Escandell said the Council's longstanding commitment is about making sure those employed in the island's agriculture and livestock sector have free and local options to continue their learning. “Our course programme is directly shaped by the requests we get from agrarian and livestock workers”, he pointed out, “and is part of the administration's ongoing goal to revive the countryside”.

February 13 comes with a course on identifying and controlling the spread of Formentera's most common crop pests and blights, and on February 20 students can get a mix of textbook-based and hands-on instruction about grafting techniques on fruit trees. Both courses last five hours and go from 3.00pm to 8.00pm.

The last course —12 hours of class time on basic notions in viticulture and wine making— plays out April 3-6. Interested learners can sign up for any one of the courses at the OAC or online on the OVAC. Registration is already open and will close three days before the start of each module.

Formentera looks ahead to new marine reserve

Wednesday, 14 November 2018 18:52

Spread over 1,059 hectares, Punta de sa Creu marine reserve is due for approval in committee this Friday

The Balearic ministry of environment, agriculture and fishing has drafted an order creating a new, 1,059-hectare marine reserve called Punta de sa Creu in an expanse known by the same appellation between two other headlands, or “points”—Punta de la Fernanda and Punta des Far—that flank a rocky crag downhill from La Mola. Expected to pass review in a Friday November 16 meeting of the administration's “governing council” (Consell de Govern), the provision would give the stretch of coastline, deemed invaluable by ecologists and fishermen alike, special protected status. Not only is the area, as scientific studies suggest, home to a wealth of marine biodiversity, it is also crucial for the small-scale operations of local fishermen. As many as 23 distinct benthic habitats have been tallied there as well, such as posidonia seagrass meadows, photophilic algae and coralligenous assemblages cleaved upon hard substrate.

Visiting the site of the future reserve, the environment, agriculture and fishing minister of the region extolled the virtues of such safeguards and drew attention to the Balearic administration's track record on the subject—not only designating new expanses with protected status but bolstering patrols of the areas, too. Vicenç Vidal explained the role of the so-called “sustainable tourism levy” in bankrolling expansions to reserve surveillance personnel, which have gone from 7 to 14 in the last three years and are expected to hit a regional total of 17 with the green-lighting of a similar reserve at Tagomago. The planned reserve at Punta de sa Creu will have one patrol person as well as a dedicated boat.

The new reserve was advocated by a range of social collectives and public agencies, including the Formentera Council. To Jaume Ferrer, president of the local administration, Punta de sa Creu is a “promise that will be delivered on during this legislative session”. He also underscored the significance of the local fishermen's involvement in the process.

The surrounding area is a familiar backdrop for a host of activities directly related to the island's fishing resources. The time-honoured practices involve at least eight kinds of tackle and métiers—low-impact fishing boats typical in Eivissa and Formentera waters. The area of coastline is an extremely popular destination for recreational fishing practices—whether at the surface (volantí and curricà) or underwater—and tourists keen on scuba-diving. Regulation of such activities is a particularly important part of ensuring they can continue to accommodate biodiversity and the marine resources that live there.